Welcome back to the RCQ Recap series! It’s October, and we’re deep into the midsts of Standard Season. Mere days before All Hallows’ Eve, 22 players gathered to compete for one of four invites to the Round 2 Regional Championship in Vancouver. After five rounds of Swiss and a cut to top 8, four players emerged with their invites. Three of whom were playing Izzet Spellementals.
Our lone Dimir Reanimator player was unable to escape the deluge of birds and crabs, with Avi Gobrin emerging as the winning blue-red pilot. We grabbed a couple of words with him for this week’s player profile, along with our usual decklist collection.
Player Profile: Avi Gobrin

Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Set: Wilds of Eldraine
Favorite Plane: Lorwyn
Q: Why did you play this deck today?
A: I played this deck for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve played it a lot in the past, and secondly, I own all the cards!
Q: What’s your favorite thing about it?
A: Definitely the cheap interaction. I love playing games where I interact with my opponent early on. The games then become very positionally intricate, which is exactly the type of gameplay I enjoy.
Q: What was the most difficult match you played today?
A: The most difficult match by far was my semifinal match against Chris Ha in the Spellementals mirror. The games were extremely complex, as the post-board dynamics are very difficult to navigate. There are often many angles of attack and many ways to respond, which makes casting your cantrips very difficult. Additionally, with so many instants and cards with flash, there’s a constant battle over who blinks first.
Q: Which game today was your favorite to play?
A: Same as the previous question, for similar reasons. I often find the harder the games, the more I enjoy them.
Q: What event are you most looking forward to playing next?
A: There’s one more Arena Limited Tournament Qualifier with Star Trek Limited that I’d like to play. After that, I’m looking forward to playing even more Star Trek Limited at SCG CON Minneapolis with my friends!
The above answers have been edited for length and clarity
Top 8 Decklists
Izzet Spellementals – Avi Gobrin (1st)
Dimir Reanimator – Sasha Farenyuk (2nd)
Planeswalkers (3)
Izzet Spellementals – Thomas Smith (3rd)
Izzet Spellementals – Chris Ha (4th)
4c Control – Daniel Lee (5th)
Mono-Green Landfall – Donald Giancoulas (6th)
Spells (4)
Artifacts (1)
4c Control – Ben Kolisnyk (7th)
Artifacts (4)
Azorius Momo – Alexandre Furstenberger (8th)
Planeswalkers (2)
Artifacts (4)

Alex Sowa is a writer, coder and Level 2 Magic Judge. While she runs events of all formats, she mostly plays Commander. You can find her by calling JUDGE… or at one of the links below.